sunday survey: are the good old days of the young guns gone?

Fore! Look out ladies, the girls are comin’ up! Or, are they? Over the weekend, 16-year-old Lexi Thompson shocked the LPGA by winning the Navistar LPGA Classic event in Alabama. She was the youngest winner on the tour by over two years and sparked a whole new conversation in that sport about teenage prodigies, especially seeing that Lexi herself isn’t even a full-fledged pro (not until age 18 on the Lpeedg, y’all). Thompson is filing for membership into the sport’s top body come next week.

But what about the young ladies of the WTA? The tour was once dominated by teens — Tracy Austin, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis — they all had their big start at a young age. But this year on the WTA, as far as TSF can tell, there has been just teenage winner: 19-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who is now 20. Twenty-year-olds Polona Hercog and Ksenia Pervak have collected titles, as have 21-year-olds Alberta Brianti, Petra Kvitova and Sabine Lisicki. But the teens? Nada. So that has us curious: Are teenage champs a thing of the past? Weigh in below.

One Response to “sunday survey: are the good old days of the young guns gone?”

Hi Nick. I don’t think it’s the end: There will be a young girl that comes along that will be off the charts physically (Madison Keys?) who, if guided right, handles the transition from playing juniors to competing against veterans with no problem. Everyone out there can play; it all depends on who’s on top physically and mentally. Veterans have seen it all, but a young girl has to have the confidence she can compete with the older ones and not be too in awe of her elders.